Will Fed's Interest Rate Cut Revive Condo Sales In South Florida?
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years. This first move was a bigger than expected 50 basis points.
Condo developers seem to get all of the credit for driving a significant portion of the South Florida economy but I learned nearly two decades ago as a financial reporter that it is the bankers who have the real economic power.
Ask anyone who lives east of Interstate 95 in Miami to name a condo builder, and you will probably hear names like developer emeritus Jorge Perez, branding visionary Gil Dezer or workaholic David Martin.
Then, ask those same Miamians to name a banker.
Not a financial institution like TD Bank, Wells Fargo or Bank of America but rather an individual who runs a bank in South Florida.
If all you hear is silence, broaden the geographical scope to include any banker anywhere in the state, country or world.
Maybe you will hear names like Jamie Dimond of JPMorgan Chase, Jerome Powell of the Federal Reserve or Christine Lagarde of the European Central Bank.
